FINRA fined former NFP Securities, Inc. associate Kenneth Raden Miller $20,000 and suspended him for six months after determining he made material and negligent misrepresentations and/or omissions in connection with $1,375,000-worth of investment sales related to the True North Finance Corporation.
According to the findings, Miller sold True North limited partnership interests between 2007 and 2008 to 22 customers while failing to accurately represent True North's financial difficulties resulting from defaults on various loan repayments. Following these defaults, True North also ceased making income distributions to investors, including distributions that would have gone to Miller's customers.
In 2010, the SEC filed a compliant accusing True North of offering and accounting fraud; as a result of these financial troubles, True North investors have effectively lost their entire principal investments because they are unable to liquidate.
Investigators found that although the True North Offering Memorandum stated the units offered were of high risk and could potentially lead to a complete loss of investment, Miller nonetheless believed the safety of investments was guaranteed. FINRA believes that in assuming this, Miller failed to consider several variables that would otherwise have indicated True North was indeed a "high risk" investment with real potential for total loss of principal.
Accordingly, FINRA charged Miller with negligent misrepresentation on the grounds that he falsely represented the safety of the investments as "100% guaranteed."
After allegedly effecting 227 discretionary transactions in the account of a customer without obtaining prior written authorization from either the customer or his employing firm, Miller was also charged with improper use of discretion.
If you have invested with Kenneth Raden Miller, NFP Securities or with any broker who has failed to fully disclose risk or other key information associated with an investment, and such omissions have misled you to the point of your investment suffering partial or total losses, please call The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for an investigation and consultation.